What better place to discuss Pynchonâ€™s new novel Against the Day (and all his other texts)than in the Zone? In 2008, the biannual Pynchon conference takes place in Munich, Germany,just as Mondaugenâ€™s city celebrates its 850th birthday (and Europe goes soccer-crazyduring the European Cup). The American Studies department of theLudwig-Maximilians-UniversitÃ¤t invites scholars and students, amateurs and novices, fansand critics to get together for this four-day event. While a good share of the conferenceis to be dedicated to Against the Day, it is of course open to all things Pynchon, and allproposals are welcome. A special invitation goes out to scholars from disciplines otherthan literary studies.

The form of presentations can either be individual papers, media presentations, or panels.If you want to present, send your abstract (500-750 words for individual presentations,1,000 to 1,500 words for panels) to: sascha.poehlmann_at_lrz.uni-muenchen.de

The deadline for proposals is November 30, 2007; decisions will be made by January 15. Afull program will be published shortly after, with details about the location and moresuggestions about accommodation. There is no participation fee. If you have any questions,send an e-mail to the address above. The conference website is located at:http://www.lrz-muenchen.de/~poehlmann/IPW2008/index.htm